MARINE WITH .50 EARNS BRONZE STAR
Serving as a Platoon Sergeant in the First Marine Division in Iraq, Staff Sergeant Steve Reichert found himself and fellow Marines in a potentially dire situation. Deployed near the Karch Oil Depot in Lutafiyah, Reichert moved to an overwatch position on top of an oil tank to ensure the safety of one of the squads in the oil depot.

Reichert ascertained that a squad was being surrounded and attacked by large numbers of insurgents and quickly engaged the enemy with his Barrett .50 BMG rifle. Working at ranges of 900 to more than 1,600 meters, Reichert killed multiple insurgents in support of the squad.

During the firefight, two of the Marines in the squad became isolated from the rest of the group, nearly 100 meters away. Reichert held the converging enemy forces at bay with his Barrett until they were able to safely rejoin the rest of their squad.

In complete disregard of his own personal safety, Reichert remained on the line protecting these men even though he himself had become isolated from support by more than 2 kilometers. To make matters worse, Reichert was also receiving friendly fire from a disoriented friendly unit during the engagement.

Once all was said and done, Reichert had nine confirmed kills in addition to doubtless numerous other enemy killed or wounded. In recognition of his bravery and skill in effectively handling a very fluid and dangerous situation, Staff Sergeant Reichert was awarded the Bronze Star for his actions.

Steve Reichert has gone on to found Tier 1 Group (www.t1g.com) designed to offer members of the military community advanced training as well as High Caliber Training (www.hicaltraining.com), designed to offer training for the civilian and law enforcement markets.